REPUBLIC OF RWANDA
NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ELECTRICAL ENERGY HAVERSTING FROM THE ROAD HUMPS
USING ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM
MARCH, 2020
Kigali, January 22nd 2016
1|Page
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Background and Context ................................................................................................................................................ 4
3. Project Goal and Specific Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 5
3.1. Main objective ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2. Specific objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 5
4. Methodology and Approach .......................................................................................................................................... 6
4.1. Data collection ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
4.2. Simulation................................................................................................................................................................. 7
4.3. Implementation ...................................................................................................................................................... 8
5. Expected Results, Outputs and Outcomes ............................................................................................................... 9
6. Ethical and gender/ inclusivity considerations .................................................................................................. 10
7. Implementing Organization and Key Personnel ................................................................................................. 10
8. Project Timeline ............................................................................................................................................................... 12
9. Project Monitoring and Evaluation .......................................................................................................................... 12
10. References ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15
11. Project Budget ................................................................................................................................................................ 15
1. Executive Summary
Electrical energy is the most powerful tool for country development. In Rwanda high
percentage of electricity used is generated from conventional sources like water, internal
combustion engines, gas, coal and other the rest is generated from solar energy. The
generation of sufficient and clean energy from non- conventional sources is the best way of
keeping our country natural resources safe and other purposes. Hence, the proposed
electrical energy which will be harvested from the hump has a great role for sustainable
green economic development. However, the available generated energy is still insufficient
and costly to be used in different required sectors include the public lighting on the roads.
The vehicles use roads more than 16hours/ 24 hours in a full day. It is costly to the
government to maintain the roads in good working condition and keep their streets/public
lighting the whole night and traffic lighting during day and night.
Thus, this study aims at proposing an alternative solution to overcome with the cost of
electricity paid for streets/public lighting with a possible new source of electrical energy.
Energy will be harvested when vehicle pass on the road humps constructed within the
system internally to generate electricity. Detailed data of the system to operate will be
collected. The system will operate electromechanically in four stages. First stage is
mechanical part to be in contact with vehicle tire, 2nd stage is piezo electrical in vibration, 3rd
one is rotation of generator though mechanical system and the last one is electricity storage
before used it. Then modeling of the electrical energy harvesting from road hump will be
performed by using appropriate software like Matlab and Ansys and different operating
parameters defining the environment. Besides, the implementation of physical model will be
done and generate and store electricity in good quantity used to light the roads during night.
The harvested energy will be generated with free pollutions and maintenance. The daily
generated electricity form one road hump will be able to supply between 20 and 26 of road
lights in the whole night in lighting mode nonstop and traffic lighting of the same roads.
Therefore, using this system will save the country budget used to pay electricity for public
lighting and traffic lighting and reduce the shortage of power during night which is facing by
Rwandan population and the Rwanda Utility Group (REG).
Keywords: Energy, Non-conventional Source, road hump, public and traffic lighting
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2. Background and Context
The country energy demand rapidly increasing for both expected and the unexpected
industrial and economic development of our country which have resulted in a significant
increase in energy consumption [1]. This is the cause of highly shortage of energy in the
country. Due to that fact, the desire to find sufficient energy by using power generation plants
has led to overexploitation of natural resources. At the same time, power plant equipment
with expensive cost to improve more energy efficiently. However, these solutions have also
resulted in resource depletion, environmental pollution, and excess carbon dioxide emission
in the country. This research addresses the problems from low available electrical energy in
three different angles; economic growth, environmental protection and social equity and
proposes a new energy generation from no conventional source as the general solution to
these problems. Accordingly, hunting for cleaner, cheaper and more sustainable energy
generation for replacing the existing energy used for streets lighting and traffic lighting.
The existing energy generated from hydropower, wind, solar, and geothermal which are
among the sustainable and/or renewable energy sources but affecting the balance of the
country ecosystem [2]. While nuclear energy has been planned to be used in future to
support the existing system as an alternative source of energy have also become widely
accepted alternatives to fossil fuels. Energy harvesting from road humps is one of the proven
energy from non-conventional sources and generating electricity to be used directly or after
a period of time1. The system will be built by mechanical part of rack and pinion and one way
crutch, shaft and flywheel and generator, the piezo electric system, storage system and
distribution circuits. Therefore, this area has been chosen due to its gap and available
resources which will be used to overcome that gap.
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3. Project Goal and Specific Objectives
3.1. Main objective
The main objective of this research is to design and implement a new electrical energy
generation from non-conventional source that is able to supply electricity for public lighting,
traffic lighting and other equipment on the roads need electrical power during day and night.
3.2. Specific objectives
From the main objective the following specific objectives will be undertaken in this research:
 To design a mechanism with road hump shape and fixed on the road to rotate a
generator;
 To design an electrical energy storage system which can store electricity capacity
required to supply traffic lighting, road signals and public lighting while generator is
not working;
 To simulate a prototype of energy generation using appropriate software like
Solidworks, Ansys and Matlab using the similar environment to the real practical
energy power plant;
 To implement the practical system that will be installed and used in city of Kigali and
produce between 600 to 2000Watts per day.
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4. Methodology and Approach
Data collection
Inputs parameters
Mechanical system modelling
Piezoelectric modelling
SolidWorks
Proteus
ANSYS
Electrical Energy storage
capacity system
Simulation
analysis by
Matlab
Physical model
Electrical energy
harvesting from
road humps
Public
lighting
Road signals
Traffic
lighting
Figure 1: Methodology layout
The above flowchart summarizes the methods will be used in this research and its main role
is to support the achievement of the main objective and the specific objectives to the
expected outcomes.
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4.1. Data collection
To achieve the specific objectives, both primary and secondary data collection will be used
by carrying out:
-
The required data inputs parameters for mechanical and piezoelectric system design
(pushing down the rack to make pinion rotate to activate the generator and vibration
of the piezoelectric devices) including vehicle speed on the hump, vehicle load,
dimensions between tire and bottom dead of the rack, contact angle and contact patch
between road hump and tire, number of vehicles pass on the hump in a second, ….
-
Rwandan road humps specifications;
-
The quantity of electricity used for lighting the roads, traffic lighting and roads signals
in Kigali.
This method will be conducted by using the direct observations on the field, the interviews,
and key informant techniques to get the above primary data and secondary data will be
gotten for different report of electrical energy in the country. The direct observation as a part
of our participation and presence on the field for taking the primary data it will be very
helpful in this research.
4.2. Simulation
Due to limited resources like laboratories and equipment used during working on prototype
in our country, simulation is the defined tool that will help us to analyze and examine the
variations of input parameters to change of environmental conditions during data analysis.
The specific objectives by this method their feasibilities will be measured. With simulation
the expected result also will be measurable like generation of electricity after each vehicle
pass on the road hump, the storage of energy capacity to be used when no vehicle in the
roads. Apart of hardware tools the software including SolidWorks, ANSYS, Proteus and
Matlab will be used for drawing, simulation and analysis of prototype based on different
inputs parameters as stated in section 4.1.
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7
6
Bus station
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Figure 2: Prototype view (1. Vehicle on the road hump, 2. Road hump, 3. Road, 4.Traffic
light, 5. Street/Public lighting, 6. Road signals, 7. System components under road hump
4.3. Implementation
After testing the prototype, the physical model will be implemented in line with main goal of
the project. Assembling the physical model will be simple because it will refer to the
prototype results. The proposed required materials will be used to construct the physical
model are: sheet metal, shaft, fixed bearing, gears, rack and pinion, flywheel with groove, belt,
pulley, alternator, inverter, battery, electrical wires, one way crutch, grease, …
The project will need the collaboration between academia and industry or private sector.
The academia will demonstrate and define the all requirements and perform the system
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design including calculations and the prototype. The assembling methods based to the
system working principle to have the required electricity will be done by research in
academia. However, the practices of fixing the real system to start its operation will be
required the intervention of industry. Therefore, this project will empower the women from
the TVET particular whose skills in mechanical engineering and electrical technology to
participate in both prototyping and physical model works. It will give women jobs and
strengthen their research and technicity confidence in this world of creativity and innovation
due to one of the projector owners is a woman.
5. Expected Results, Outputs and Outcomes
In more details the electrical energy harvested from road humps will be achieved as
explained in the expected outcomes below.
-
To generate electrical energy in the whole city of Kigali between 560 to 2000 Watt
daily;
-
To increase the electricity generated per day in our country;
-
To improve the lighting system on the roads with free charge of energy and no fear of
electricity interruption from the insufficient of daily generated power;
-
To decrease the cost of electricity paid by the government for public lighting, traffic
lighting and road signals;
-
To keep the city of Kigali continuously lighting and clean in the whole night;
-
Generation of electricity from the non-conventional source which is more than
600Watts per day
-
To increase safety movement around the roads in the night;
The most beneficiary of this research is the Ministry of infrastructure as it is designed to
solve this problem of electricity and maintenance of the roads in Rwanda. The research will
also be available to help the Rwandan future researchers and the readers who are interested
in this kind of innovation.
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6. Ethical and gender/ inclusivity considerations
This research proposal project draws on electrical energy generation from non-conventional
energy sources to increase availability of energy, pollutant gases, reducing cost of energy in
Rwanda. The project will not be only solving the energy problem; it will empower the
Rwandan women starting from the project leader. The gender equality will not be possible
if the women’s ideas will not clearly identify how they have arisen to the high in country
development [3]. After implementing this project which is led by a woman, Rwandan women
will change their mind-set to the future thinkers of the country’s development. There is equal
participation in planning, conducting data collection, laboratory testing and simulation, and
implementation of the physical model between men and women in this project in ethical
mean. The project also will give jobs more women from STEM and TVET schools. Therefore,
the project has more than 40% of the female scientists and researchers and this percentage
will be increased to 55% during its implementation because of the TVET female will
participate.
7. Implementing Organization and Key Personnel
The project leader (MUSABYIMANA Josée) is an experienced electrical engineer and now is
an assistant lecturer in Electrical Engineering at University of Rwanda/ College of Science
and Technology. She has many years of conducting researches in energy field where more
papers have published and other projects have implemented for Rwandan society
improvement.
Her
current
education
level
is
master‘s
degree
in
Electrical
Engineering/Renewable Energy graduated from Agder University in Norway. The
management of activities and financing are in charge of project monitoring and evaluator
(Redempta UMUHOZA) who is an experienced person in this work of monitoring and
evaluation of different projects. She has experience of the related work since 2016 up to
date. Today she is a master’s candidate in Energy-economics at the African center of
excellence in energy for sustainable development at University of Rwanda/ College of
Science and Technology. The project coordinator (Pacifique TURABIMANA) is an assistant
lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Rwanda Polytechnic-IPRC Gishari. He has
demonstrated his potential of conducting the projects to their implementation and here
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more than 4 projects have implemented since 2016 for society changes and country
development. He is a researcher in area of mechanical, railway and automobile engineering
where more than two papers have published to the international journals. The works of
implementing this project are his hands because of more experience of project
implementation which are similar to this one. His education level by today is master’s degree
in Railway Engineering (Rolling Stock). The project system designs are under the project
designer (KAZIMA Sosthene) who is an experience researcher in automotive field and has
published more than four papers in international journals. The designing works include
algorithms, system components, system operation, and others will be done by him based to
his capacity of prototyping the project to its implementation stage. He will be the one to lead
both software simulation and the laboratory tests of the prototype before implementation.
He is working as Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering at Rwanda PolytechnicIPRC Gishari. His education level by today is master’s degree in Automotive Electronic
Engineering. The implementation technician (Samuel GAKWAYA) has more than three years
dealing the implementation of the project like this has the effect to the country development
where he has won more prizes. He has demonstrated his potential of conducting the
implementation of this project. He is an experienced technician of COCCAR Ltd Company. His
education level is advanced diploma in Mechanical Engineering from Rwanda PolytechnicIPRC Gishari. Therefore, after the personnel, the implementing organisations of this project
are University of Rwanda/ College of Science and Technology, where all works related to
laboratories will be conducted, Rwanda Polytechnic-IPRC Gishari, where system design will
be conducted and implementation and COCCAR Ltd Company which will support in
implementation. The whole organisations are potentially to achieve the project gaol for
electricity generation using non-conventional sources.
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8. Project Timeline
Proposal
improvement
Data collection
Data analysis
Simulation
and
Interpretation of
prototype results
Implementation
of
physical
model
First testing
Improvement
and
second
testing
Commissioning
(Quarter comprises of 3 months (Jan-March); (April -June); (July-Sept); (Oct-Dec))
9. Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Project monitoring is focused on tracking project performance and progress using key
performance indicators, the electrical energy harvested from road humps project is
undergoing a revolution of increasing electricity generation capacity from non-conventional
energy and it has the aims to propose an alternative solution to increase the electricity
capacity of public lighting, traffic lighting and other roads need electrical power during day
and night and to reduce its costs. Hence project is truly design and implement the electrical
energy generation and for tracking the results, it will be formally involving weekly, monthly
to quarterly reporting on outputs, activities and use of resources meanwhile it will help to
ensure that what has been planned is proceed with the perfect resources allocated which
will bring out the best results needed. Like other project, this project also may face the
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December
November
September
October
Q4
August
July
June
Year 2
Q3
May
April
March
Q2
February
January
December
Q1
November
October
September
Q4
August
July
June
May
April
March
Q2
February
Q1
January
Activity
Year 1
Q3
different risks, especially lack of field data, the project proposed what it calls simulation
where it will use data from laboratory tested and think that because the professional
technicians and designer the project have, all risks will be monitored through their
experience without causing any trouble.
Briefly let use the table to provide an over view of the project
S/N
1
Activities
Proposal
improvement
2
Indicators
Objectives
Gathering
all Design
and
information about the implement a new
project and reporting
electrical
energy
generation
from
non-conventional
source that is able to
supply electricity for
public
lighting,
traffic lighting
- Availability of data
-Qualitative
and
- Reporting
quantitative data
-Reporting
Data
collection
3
Data analysis
-The number of humps
available in the road
- Vehicle speed in road
-Availability of data
collection
Data
logger
developed in software
to analyse available
data
- Reporting
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Results
To overcome the cost of
electricity
paid
for
streets/public
lighting
with a possible new source
of electrical energy
- Data inputs parameters
for
mechanical
and
piezoelectric
system
design
- Rwandan road humps
specifications;
- The quantity of electricity
used for lighting the roads,
traffic lighting and roads
signals in Kigali.
To design a mechanism
To
design
an with road hump shape and
electrical
energy fixed on the road to rotate a
storage
system generator
which can store
electricity capacity
required
to
be
supply
4
Simulation
and
Interpretatio
n of prototype
results
- Availability of high
performance computer
installed with software
such as solid works,
Ansys, Proteus and
Matlab
- Reporting
5
Implementat
ion
of
physical
model
-Availability
of
materials to construct
physical model
-Collaboration
with
academia, industry and
private sectors
- Reporting
6
First testing -Availability of physical
stage
model installed under
the roads
-Conduct the electrical
energy harvesting from
road humps
- Reporting
-Electricity
harvesting
from
road humps should
fulfil its purpose and
solve the problem
has stated
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Improvemen -Road humps
t and second -Public lighting, traffic
testing stage lighting, signals
-improving
the
physical model
Commissioni Presentation
of
ng stage
activities done and
handover
to
the
competent institutions
The
amount
of
electricity generated
from road humps to
solve the stated
problem
To present and hand
over of the project
8
14
Analyse
and
examine
the
variations of input
parameters
to
change the output
results to the correct
efficiency with good
operating principal
of the system
-Implementation of
a n electrical energy
generator which is
able
to
supply
electricity for public
lighting,
traffic
lighting and signals
-Generation of electricity
after each vehicle pass on
the road hump,
-The capacity to store
energy to be used when no
vehicle in the roads.
- To generate electrical
energy in the whole city of
Kigali between 560 to 2000
watt per day
The practical system that
will be installed and used
in city of Kigali and
produce more than
600Watt per day.
-Increase the electricity
generated per day in our
country
Handing over the project to
the competent institution
or
the
ministry
of
infrastructure in charge
10. References
1. World Bank Report, Republic of Rwanda for a First Programmatic Energy Sector
Development Policy Financing, Energy and Extractives Global Practice Africa Region,
November 2, 2017.
2. Task2 report, Design of the national Electrification Plan in Rwanda, Review
Assessment of current electrification programs prepared by REG/EDCL and
confirmation on institutional, technical and financial aspects, 2015.
3. Janz, K. & Persson, R. 2002. How to know more about forests? Supply and use of
information for forest policy. CIFOR Occasional Paper 36. Bogor, Indonesia, Center for
International Forestry Research.
11. Project Budget
The expected total cost of the project is 60,000,000FRW which is divided in three phases as
is shown in below table and these three phases are in two years. The detailed budget will be
provided together with the project implementation work plan. The management of the fund
will be made by financial manager who will be in charge of resources for accounting and
reporting purposes for money used according with activities and objective restrictions
specified in funding agreements.
Phase One
Phase Two
Phase Three
Description of Work
All data required in this project will be collected
and analysed, the implementation area will be
selected and analysed accordingly
Software and other materials will be purchased
to make the prototypes and prototype will be
tested to its level of operation in line with project
main objective and system working environment,
all required materials to build the physical model
will be purchased
Presented physical model will be finished at this
stage and all testing works will also be done at
this
phase,
project
verification
and
commissioning to the competent authorities or
institution will be done here
Total
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Start and End Dates
January 2021 to July 2021
16,000,000 Frw
August 2021 to February
2022
34,000,000 Frw
March 2022 to December
2022
10,000,000 Frw
60,000,000 Frw